MISENHEIMER, N.C. – Shooting nearly 90% from the free throw line converting 24 of 27 attempts, Pfeiffer University was able to slide past Belmont Abbey College 80-74 in Conference Carolinas women’s basketball action on Saturday night in the Merner Gym. Brittany Cox (Winston-Salem, NC) led with a game-high 22 as the Lady Falcons snapped a four-game losing streak getting back to .500 overall at 9-9, 4-5 in league play. The Crusaders fall to 9-10, 5-5 with the loss.

After trading early baskets in the first half, a Kelsey Long (Pilot Mountain, NC) layup put Belmont Abbey up 15-14 with 9:42 remaining in the period. Jodie Lemons (Madison, NC) would follow with a triple 11 seconds later to start what would be a 24-14 Lady Falcon run to close out the half.

A 16-2 spurt started with an ensuing three-point play by Lemons at the 8:20 mark with a jumper from Long serving as the only Crusader basket in the five-minute stretch. Grabbing a little bit of momentum before the intermission, Belmont Abbey used a pair of Caitlyn Ranson (Cary, NC) three’s to slice the lead down to nine, 38-29, at the half.

Pfeiffer bounced back early in the second getting back to a dozen point lead on a Brittney Washington (Simpsonville, NC) jumper with 9:26 remaining. After another Long trey cut it back to single-digits for Belmont Abbey, a Haley Grimsley (Thomasville, NC) basket would create a 14-3 run for the Lady Falcons bolting out to a 20-point lead, 72-52, with 5:24 on the clock. A 10-0 Crusader run chipped the lead back to 10 thanks to Ranson and Paula Regalado (Roanoke, TX) free throws, but a pair of Kellie Rhoney (Catawba, NC) and Cox buckets would help ice the lead late for the Lady Falcons.

Cox led all scorers with 22 on the night finishing a board shy of a double-double. Lemons was the only other Lady Falcon in double-figures with 15. Belmont Abbey saw a balanced attack on offense lead to five in double-digit scoring with Long, Ranson and Melisa Foures (Kernersville, NC) each finishing with 13. Both teams shot 39% on the night and 29% from behind the arc, but the advantage came at the charity stripe with Pfeiffer shooting their 89% to Belmont Abbey’s 69%.

The Lady Falcons get back to action on Thursday night hosting St. Andrews at the Merner Gym. Tip time is set for 5:30 p.m. with live stats and video being available courtesy of http://www.gofalconsports.com.